Michelin X Tweel

Tire + Wheel = Tweel

What happens when you blend a tire with a wheel? You get a Tweel, an airless tire created by Michelin.

Michelin Tweel Technologies, a division of Michelin North America, introduces the X Tweel, a 26-inch airless radial tire with a four-bolt wheel-pattern hub designed for use on UTVs.

Michelin X Tweel

The X Tweel was designed to improve mobility in difficult environments and conditions where vehicles are exposed to rugged roads, jagged terrain and other hostile elements. The X Tweel is not for high-speed racing, however, as it has a 37-mph speed rating at a maximum gross vehicle weight of 2,860 pounds.

Originally designed for military-special-operations use on light-tactical vehicles, the Michelin X Tweel UTV airless radial tire is a single unit that replaces the current pneumatic tire/wheel/valve assembly. Once bolted on, there is no air pressure to maintain, thus eliminating the need to carry spare tires, tools or repair kits.

It is appropriate for use on construction, farm, landscape, recreation, quarry, mine, emergency-service response, logging, parks, hunting, military operations, universities, beach patrol, camping, hurricane/tornado and other debris-laden areas where flat tires cause serious and extreme interruptions.

Here’s a video that shows how the X Tweel is constructed:

Michelin X Tweel Airless Radial Tire

Users may choose from three hub configurations that will fit 4×137 and 4×156 bolt patterns for a variety of machines, including certain Can-Am Defenders, Kawasaki Mules and Polaris Rangers. Additional hub configurations for John Deere, Honda, Kubota and Argo are expected to follow later.